Materia Medica de A a Z

SQUILLA (SCILLA) MARITIMA (squil)

Squilla was given in the olden times by the old school in all lung, bronchial, and kidney affections; pneumonia, asthma, scanty urine and dropsical affections.

Cough: Has a loose morning cough and a dry evening cough (Alum, Carb-v, Ph-ac, Sep, Stram, Puls, Squilla). Puls and Squil., being strong here, but Squil. has a hard cough; coughs, gags, sneezes; urine escapes and quite frequently feces; the patient coughs until he is covered with sweat; he gags and coughs and finally succeeds in raising two or three little lumps of white, tenacious mucus; it is a spasmodic cough caused by mucus in the trachea or a tickling, creeping sensation in the chest.

The loose morning cough is worse than the dry evening cough. Patient chilly; cannot have the least draft; wants plenty of clothing and is very sensitive to cold; not so in Puls. Urine is generally copious, watery, colorless.

About 11 A.M. to 12 or 1 P.M. there is the most dyspnoea from filling up of the chest with mucus; this same feeing returns during the hour, but it is from cardiac weakness. Copious, colorless urine is one of its important symptoms and resembles Ign, but Squil. is not a hysterical patient like Ign. Quite similar to Cann-i or Gels in brain affections, but Squil. has not many brain affections nor many febrile symptoms. Phos has inflammation of the brain and when the dangerous turn comes this increase of urine is a bad sign. Puls tearful, then copious urine. Squil. copious, colorless urine in diabetes; when this seems to disappear and chest symptoms appear, these troubles disappear and kidney troubles appear, these would disappear and dropsy comes up; when the urine would get copious again these dropsical symptoms would disappear and Squil. acts a long time.

There is a copious, colorless flow from the nose, more especially in the morning; the cough is similar to Tart-emet. (Ant-t).

Squil. in its internal nature is quite like Thuj in regard to its spurting urine and its spasmodic cough; with the escape of urine there is more or less of escape of feces of a dark brown or black fluid in frothy bubbles, very offensive, painless, involuntary.

Respiration difficult with stitches in the chest when breathing and coughing. Great dyspnoea, the child cannot drink; seizes the cup eagerly, but can drink only in sips; frequently obliged to take a deep breath which provokes a cough; shortness of breath on every exertion. Pains in the chest aggravated in the morning. Dull rheumatic pains aggravated when exercising; exercising; ameliorated while at rest. Evening dry cough with sweetish expectoration. Great heat in the body. Follows well after Bry. Absolute lack of sweat is a characteristic.

Dry cough at 11 P.M. worse from cold water and cold air (Rumx). Bell has cough at 11 P.M. worse from uncovering, red face, congestion in head. Lach soon after going to sleep, which may be 11 P.M.

Nasal discharge acrid, corroding, worse in the morning; violent sneezing. Stool dark brown or black.

Seldom much cough during day. Pneumonia: Stitches when inhaling, jerking pains; always right side; catarrh of the chest and threatened pneumonia after hemorrhage from the lungs. Soreness in the chest, worse from motion. Bry will often palliate and the case will go into Squilla.